The mission of the Oakland Public Works (OPW) Training Academy is to provide on-the-job training, employability, and job acquisition skills for Oaklanders between 18-30 years of age from communities that have been historically disenfranchised and economically marginalized. The academy provides two important benefits to our community: filling the vacancies within our department and providing well-rounded training and support to local youth and adults to successfully gain and maintain employment within our department.
OPW hiring priorities are young adults aged 18-30 that are low-income, are unemployed and/or out of school, are transitioning from foster care, were justice-involved, engaged with the mental health or substance abuse system, and/or may have difficulty finding employment.
The program is designed to meet the following objectives:
- Expose trainees to career opportunities within Oakland Public Works.
- Provide a variety of social, safety, and life-skills trainings to prepare participants to be successful when working individually and as part of a team or crew.
- Provide tailored job acquisition training (for example, resume writing and interviewing skills) to strengthen competitiveness when applying for full-time employment in Oakland Public Works and the City of Oakland at large.
- Place trainees in a full-time, 4-6 month long position, for firsthand experience performing job duties/tasks, and to learn other skills necessary to apply for the corresponding entry-level position.
- Reduce OPW vacancies with individuals from the local community to better serve those same communities.